Behind the Stays

In this episode, we welcome back Jamie Lane, SVP of Research at AirDNA, to discuss the booming trend of unique stays in the hospitality industry. Over the past few years, the demand for unique stays—think A-frames, yurts, and treehouses—has skyrocketed. Jamie and I delve into the data behind this trend, exploring how travelers' preferences have shifted towards distinctive and memorable accommodati...

Meet Omar Boubess, Creative Director at Studio Circa, a luxury branding agency that works with boutique hotels and unique collections of STRs. Growing up, Omar wanted to be a National Geographic photographer — or a soccer player — depending on the day you asked him. And, while neither dream quite came to fruition, Omar did pursue his creative interests and wound up finding a love for developing un...

Welcome to "Unlocking the Secrets of Successful Hospitality Websites: A Special 2-Part Series with Hudson Creative Studio .” In this series, Zach sit down with Eli Pritykin, founder of Hudson Creative Studio to dive deep into the art and science of creating a memorable website that serves as the digital headquarters for your hospitality brand. In the first episode, you'll hear Eli's fascinating jo...

Meet Ruth Wimpory — the entrepreneur behind Skoolie Stays and The Vacationist , two of the UK’s favorite off-grid escapes.  In 2019, Ruth and her husband, Guy, along with their two young children, decided to take a year off from their “normal” lives in Brighton in the UK, to embark on an adventurous year-long journey across the United States in a converted school bus.  What started as a quest for...

Meet Philip Kennard — Founder and CEO of Futurestay . Growing up, Philip loved video games.  And for Philip, video games were about so much more than the playing experience…he loved the art, the logic, and the business behind creating worlds.  This love sparked his entrepreneurial spirit and led him to work in game development for Sega, one of the world’s leading game design companies, and, eventu...

Meet Annie Holcombe, a seasoned hospitality industry expert with a passion for vacation rentals and an impressive track record at major travel tech companies. Annie's journey in the vacation rental industry is nothing short of inspiring. Starting from property management, she moved on to pivotal roles at Expedia and Homes and Villas by Marriott, gaining invaluable insights into the world of travel...

Meet Yvonna and Darren Grandfield, a dynamic duo who’ve turned their passion for real estate into a thriving business of unique and stunning short-term rentals. Growing up, Yvonna and Darren never imagined they’d one day be the proud owners of a collection of charming properties, but a chance encounter at an Ace Hardware store set them on a path they couldn’t have anticipated — who’d a thought the...

Meet Josh Luttrell, the innovative entrepreneur behind Home Theme Orlando, a company transforming vacation rentals into immersive themed experiences. As a kid, Josh dreamed of being a basketball player, but life had other plans. However, he took his competitive spirit and he channeled it into real estate, eventually carving out a niche in Orlando's short -term rental market by creating uniquely th...

In this episode of "Behind the Stays," we bring you a special and urgent conversation with a guest who's no stranger to the show, Elam King — we featured his story on Episode 180 of the podcast.   Elam's story is nothing short of remarkable. Growing up in the Amish community, he transitioned into a successful hospitality entrepreneur, building an impressive portfolio of short-term rentals. However...

Meet Cody Watson, the entrepreneur behind Explorely, a groundbreaking platform poised to revolutionize outdoor travel planning and experiences.  Growing up, Cody dreamed of being an inventor. And while he didn't end up creating the next big gadget, he did channel that inventive spirit into the entrepreneurial world, ultimately founding Explorely — a platform designed to be the Kayak.com for outdoo...

 Meet Tyler Jordan, the co-founder of Nova Haus —a ground-breaking hospitality brand that's redefining luxury stays for larger groups and corporate retreats.  Tyler and his business partner, Martin Papp, are on a mission to create the ultimate group getaway experience. Think luxury villas equipped with everything from gyms and saunas to podcast recording studios and content creation rooms, all set...

Meet Alex Alioto, Co-Founder and Head of Growth at Whimstay, the Hotel Tonight for Vacation Rentals. Growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area, Alex had dreamed of being a wide receiver for the 49ers — he was the kind of kid you’d find walking around the grocery store sporting a helmet and a jersey even when it wasn’t game day. While his dreams of playing in the NFL never came to fruition, Alex did...

Meet Justin and Rebecca Rush, the creators of the River Rock Cabin on the Toccoa River in Blue Ridge, Georgia. Justin and Rebecca are real estate photographers who had always dreamed of one day building their very own Airbnb…long after they had built their primary dream home, of course.  One day Justin got a text from one of his clients about a piece of land that was for sale along the Toccoa Rive...

Mike Hicks, the founder of Wander Chatt, a collection of unique stays across Chattanooga, TN and beyond. Mike started his entrepreneurial journey at just 19 years old after dropping out of college to learn how to work for himself. Mike got a job with a real estate developer helping to clear lots and doing an array of labor-intensive construction tasks.  Mike worked long hard days for this develope...

Meet Brian Meyer and Selly Butler — the founders of FLOHOM a new hospitality start-up that offers stunning, on-the-water stays in marinas across the mid-Atlantic. Selly is a serial entrepreneur whose latest venture is in the marina business. One day Selly received a call from an enthusiastic entrepreneur who asked to place Oysters in his marina as part of a water purification and protection nonpro...

Meet Mark Lumpkin from STR Cribs — the leading one-stop-shop for renovating, designing, and fully-furnishing a short-term rental. Mark is an innovative entrepreneur who has worked on nearly 600 renovations transforming run-of-the-mill homes into bespoke, scroll-stopping stays.  In this conversation, Mark and I discuss  How thematic short-term rentals can be a great way to compete against unique st...

Meet Whitney Hansen, the creator of The Flower Pot , a truly spectacular, one-of-a-kind experiential stay in Burley, Idaho. Whitney has always been entrepreneurial — she owns her own consulting business, she hosts a podcast on investing and financial freedom called The Money Nerds, and is now also a hospitality entrepreneur. After building one of Idaho's only geodesic domes and seeing it perform r...

Meet Derry Green — the creator and visionary behind The Secret Garden Glamping — the UK's most booked, most wished-listed, and most viewed glamping site with a 2+ year waiting list. Derry has always loved the outdoors – growing up, he and his family were avid campers. Some of his childhood memories involved playing in the woods with his brother and sitting around the campfire telling stories. When...

Meet Boris Mordkovich, who created Lumen Nature Retreat — a luxury waterfront glamping resort nestled in the heart of New Hampshite’s White Mountains — in partnership with his wife Susan. The idea for Lumen was born while Boris and Susan traveled from Boston to Argentina over a 6-month road trip for an extended honeymoon. During this trip, their Toyota Land Cruiser car had a rooftop tent that allo...

Meet Kristie Wolfe — the entrepreneur and builder behind some of the world’s most famous Airbnbs including the Big Idaho Potato Hotel , The Big Island Treehouse, The Hobbit Inn, and several others. Growing up, Kristie always wanted to do her own thing – she convinced her parents to let her drop out of high school because she felt like she could learn more about business outside of the classroom. K...

Meet Nick Purslow, who is both the Co-Founder of Glampitect North America, an incredible educational and consulting resource for setting up a glamping site, and also the co-founder of a new start-up called Posh Outdoors , which supplies owners of iconic properties with high-end glamping units and backend support, at no up-front cost to the landowner, through an attractive revenue share model. Grow...

Meet Peter Fabor, an entrepreneur building a portfolio of niche hospitality businesses from marketplaces to industry newsletters.  Peter is a product designer by trade and has spent his career working in and around hospitality and technology companies.  In this conversation, Peter shares hot takes he has on the relevancy (or lack therefor) of hotel brands over the next decade, how he built a marke...

Meet Louis Thompson —  Founder and CEO of Nomadic Resorts, a consultancy that designs and builds some of the world’s most innovative and unique hotels and homes. Growing up, Louis wanted to be a chef — and while he never pursued his culinary aspirations he did wind up designing some of the world’s most memorable restaurants.  In this conversation, Louis and I discuss how he thinks about designing...

Meet Nitin Sood, Vice President of Innovation at Homes & Villas by Marriott Bonvoy. Nitin and his team launched the first AI-powered search experience of any travel site so I invited him to come on the show to talk about how they built the tool, how folks are engaging with the experience post-launch, and what they’ve got cooking up behind the scenes to improve the product.  Tune in to hear Nit...

Meet Cameron Weeks — a former coast guard rescue swimmer turned hospitality entrepreneur. From a young age, Cameron dreamed of owning his own business — he used to listen to audio books like Rich Dad, Poor Dad with his father in the car when he was in elementary school.   After high school, Cameron enlisted in the coast guard and became a rescue swimmer — yes, like one of those guys who jump out o...